Category: Wesleyan Accent
Otis T. McMillan ~ Mercy and Righteousness
October 31, 2016
As you treat others with mercy, and seek to live a godly life, you will gain the respect of others, as well as find contentment and joy. Doing right and treating others with respect brings a sense of peace and completeness. It allows one, regardless of their current circumstances, to feel complete.
Maxie Dunnam ~ When All the World Was Cursed
October 29, 2016
Change happens, renewal and revival come not because we have designed it, or wanted it, or worked for it, but because God in his infinite grace and unfettered mercy, in his own time and according to his design, brings new life to persons, to congregations, to denominations, to movements, and ministries.
Elizabeth Glass Turner ~ When Preachers Read
October 27, 2016
Many people need to move from the familiar to the alien, from concrete to abstract. Jesus knew this in his own preaching. To prophetically proclaim is to take people on a journey. When pastors read, pastors deliberately invest in looking for effective ways to communicate the truth of scripture. Engaging in classics not only allows you to use stories and images that will engage your listeners as you bridge them to the biblical text, but also allows you to engage listeners whose intellects will appreciate the connections you draw.
Tammie Grimm ~ There I Plant My Foot: Jane Eyre, Jane Austen, & John Wesley
October 26, 2016
Wesley may have been an evangelist and religious reformer, but the Christian worldview and faith of Brontë and Austen is evident in the characters they develop in the pages of their novels.
Robert Carter ~ Steinbeck and the Prophet Jeremiah
October 24, 2016
In this particular letter, Jeremiah becomes the linkage between God’s promises for yet-to-be newness and the embittered exiles who are certain that they are unfairly suffering for the sins of previous generations. A creative proverb was gaining popularity among these disenfranchised refugees—everybody was sharing it on their Facebook wall: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
Michelle Bauer ~ The Famine and the Lie
October 22, 2016
Pay attention to the moments where you are quick to show faith and the places where fear tends to creep in. For a lot of us, faith and fear come in patterns. When fear shows up it is a sign that God has work to do in that place. Celebrate where you are being faithful but don’t hide or minimize the places where fear is still leading.
Richard Waugh ~ Gifts We Offer: A South Pacific View
October 20, 2016
What will we be sharing from our Methodist/Wesleyan “waka” (canoe) in whatever region of the world we minister? What treasures and gifts will we share?
Kevin Murriel ~ The Fallacy of a White Liberation Theology
October 19, 2016
So strong is this ideology among many white church leaders, those in theological circles, and some in society, that it rings loudly of “White Liberation!” suggesting that acknowledging ones’ privilege has liberated the individual from the bondage of systems that work on their behalf. I am concerned with the white Christian who wants to do something prophetic like telling other white people in their churches that they are privileged while at the same time only communing with white people.
Justin Gentry ~ Finding Myself in the Poetry of Mary Oliver
October 17, 2016
I think I am drawn so much to poetry these days because over and above anything else poets are themselves. They speak from a raw, sometimes scandalous place that many of us don’t have access to. As a pastor it can be very hard to be yourself, yet it is essential if you want to have anything of value to communicate.
Michael Smith ~ The Noah in Your Circle
October 13, 2016
Finding and listening to a “Noah” is a reminder that there is a part of our faith that needs to be challenged to understand the profound personal nature of life in the Spirit.